Izzy was worried Kim might shut down, so she figured it was best to get right to the point. “I also knew the sergeant. I worked with him when I was at Arlington PD before I went to NCIS.” She took a deep breath. “He sexually assaulted me.”
Kim’s eyes widened. “Are you serious?”
Izzy couldn’t tell whether Kim was showing relief or confusion. “Yes. And the entire reason I’m here is to find out whether he hurt other women the same way he hurt me. Given that you said you dated briefly, I wanted to see what your experience was with him.”
Kim didn’t immediately respond. She looked away again and then took a sip of her drink. “I really would prefer not to talk about this.”
Izzy understood that sentiment all too well. “Kim, I know if you had any experiences like I did, then you don’t want to speak on this topic, but it’s really important because the police are investigating the murder, and truthfully, they’re looking at me as a suspect. I’m trying to show them that he had a pattern of abuse that is far and wide, and that his killer could’ve been anyone.”
Kim leaned forward. “If what you’re saying is true, then wouldn’t it implicate me if I told you what he did to me?”
Exactly as Izzy had thought. Kim did have an unfortunate story to tell. “I’m not trying to implicate anyone specifically. I’m just trying to put the facts about his past behavior out there for all to see.”
Kim shook her head. “No. It doesn’t make any sense for me to talk, as far as I’m concerned. I don’t want people knowing what happened to me and talking about it. I’m sorry about what you went through, but I can’t help you.”
Izzy only had one more chance to get to Kim. “I’m not pointing the finger at you by any means, but I am asking whether you’d be willing to speak to the detectives about your experiences with him. They need to understand the type of man he was. The whole picture. Not just the sanitized version of events they get from the rest of Arlington PD.”
Kim looked away. “I don’t think I can do that.” Her eyes filled with tears.
Izzy took Kim’s hand. She knew the pain the other woman felt. “I’m so sorry he hurt you too. I’m not going to push, but know that if you ever do need anyone to talk to about this, completely outside this case, I’m here for you. It took me a long time to get to a better place.”
“You must be a lot stronger than I am, because I don’t think I’ll ever be in a better place as far as that topic is concerned. I’m sorry, but I need to go.”
Kim grabbed her purse and quickly walked away before Izzy could say anything else.
Izzy put her head in her hands. She didn’t think Kim had murdered the sergeant, but she definitely knew the sergeant had hurt Kim. Badly. And if that was the case, there were probably other women, and Izzy intended to find more evidence of his wrongdoing. If for nothing else, then to set the record straight about what kind of man Sergeant Henry Tybee really was.
A monster.
Since yesterday, Cass had been giving him the cold shoulder, but Zane figured she just needed time to blow off steam. Hopefully they’d be able to get back to where they were. He racked his brain, trying to figure out when their relationship had taken a turn. They’d been solid as a rock for the past few years—and completely in the platonic sense.
Maybe he wasn’t being sensitive enough to everything Cass had gone through. After all, he wasn’t the one with a target on his back. He was going to try to be patient and give her the time and space she needed. But if they got through this mole investigation and things still weren’t good between them, he couldn’t see their partnership lasting, and that really bummed him out. But that was a battle for another day.
The team had been summoned to HQ for a meeting, and he and Cass waited in a conference room for everyone else to arrive. He hoped Mason had some good news for them.
Layla walked into the conference room by herself. He wasn’t sure where Hunter was. He didn’t know the full backstory between them, but it was obvious that there was something beyond business.
He noticed Layla had dark circles under her eyes. This case was wreaking havoc on them all.
Mason walked up to the front of the room and cleared his throat. “Thanks for everyone getting together so quickly.”
Zane looked over at Cass, and they made eye contact before she quickly looked away. The cold shoulder continued. “Do you have something good for us?” he asked.
Mason ran his hand through his short dark hair. “Unfortunately, no. It’s actually very bad news.”
The room was eerily quiet. No one had been expecting this. Zane was sure everyone had been hoping for a break in the case.
“What is it?” Cass asked.
Mason looked at her. “Some of the cash seized from the op is missing.”
“What?” Layla asked. “How is that possible? We did the inventory checks ourselves, both in Honduras and once we got back stateside.”
Mason sighed loudly. “That’s precisely the problem. There’s concern from the higher-ups that someone on this team is compromised.”
“You think we took the money?” Zane didn’t even try to stay calm. This was becoming completely ridiculous. “Every day it’s a new accusation against us, and frankly, Mason, it’s getting old. I’ve dealt with all the heat put on me, but it’s out of hand to call into question the other members of the team. If there’s evidence against any one of us, then by all
